Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett:
(September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909).
American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine.
Jewett is recognized as an important practitioner of American literary regionalism.
This was one of those perfect New England days in late summer where the spirit of autumn takes a first stealing flight like a spy through the ripening countryside, and with feigned sympathy for those who droop with August heat, puts her cool cloak of bracing air about leaf and flower and human shoulders.
The sentence describes a ‘late-summer New England day’ when the first feeling of autumn begins to appear.
– “the spirit of autumn”
= autumn is personified as a living presence.
– “takes a first stealing flight like a spy”
= fall arrives quietly, almost secretly, before summer is fully over.
– “feigned sympathy for those who droop with August heat”
= autumn pretends to be merciful to people tired of summer heat.
– “puts her cool cloak of bracing air…”
= the cooler, refreshing air settles over plants, flowers, and people.
In simpler terms:
> It was one of those beautiful late-summer days when you can first feel autumn in the air — cool, fresh, and welcome after the heat of August.
📚 Origin and Author:
Author: Sarah Orne Jewett
– Work: “The Country of the Pointed Firs”
– Published: 1896
– Section/Chapter: Commonly found in the chapter titled “A Country Road”
📝 Note on Wording:
The exact wording may vary slightly depending on edition or quotation source. A common version reads:
> “This was one of those perfect New England days in late summer when the spirit of autumn takes a first stealing flight like a spy through the ripening country…”
Some versions use “country” rather than “countryside.”
